Mäntyharju

Mäntyharju
Mäntyharju
Municipality
	Mäntyharjun kunta; Mäntyharju kommun
	Mäntyharju is located in the Finnish lake region
	Coat of arms
	Location of Mäntyharju in Finland
	Coordinates: 61°25′N 026°53′E / 61.417°N 26.883°E
Country	Finland
Region	Southern Savonia
Sub-region	Mikkeli
Charter	1595
Seat	Mäntyharjun asemanseutu
Government
• Municipal manager	Juho Järvenpää
Area (2018-01-01)
• Total	1,210.98 km2 (467.56 sq mi)
• Land	981.26 km2 (378.87 sq mi)
• Water	229.23 km2 (88.51 sq mi)
• Rank	79th largest in Finland
Population (2024-12-31)
• Total	5,534
• Rank	159th largest in Finland
• Density	5.64/km2 (14.6/sq mi)
Population by native language
• Finnish	95.4% (official)
• Swedish	0.2%
• Others	4.4%
Population by age
• 0 to 14	11.2%
• 15 to 64	51.3%
• 65 or older	37.5%
Time zone	UTC+02:00 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+03:00 (EEST)
Website	www.mantyharju.fi

Mäntyharju (Finnish: [ˈmæntyˌhɑrju], lit. 'Pine Ridge') is a municipality of Finland. It is located in the Southern Savonia region, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) southwest of Mikkeli. The municipality has a population of 5,534 (31 December 2024)^[2] and covers an area of 1,210.98 square kilometres (467.56 sq mi) of which 229.23 km² (88.51 sq mi) is water.^[1] The coastline is almost 1,520 kilometers (940 mi). The population density is 6.2 inhabitants per km².

Neighbouring municipalities: Heinola, Hirvensalmi, Kouvola, Mikkeli, Pertunmaa and Savitaipale. The municipality is unilingually Finnish.

The summer houses or cottages located in the countryside are part of the culture of Finland where most Finnish families spend their summer holidays. Mäntyharju is the municipality which has the fifth most summer houses in Finland.^[5] Some of the reasons for Mäntyharju's popularity involve its many pure lakes and a relatively short distance to the Finnish capital Helsinki of approximately 200 kilometres by car. The municipality also has a direct, high-speed train connection to the capital area. Because of the many summer houses, the population of Mäntyharju more than triples during the most popular summer holiday times. Art Centre Salmela in Mäntyharju hosts one of Finland's largest cultural events in July–August.

Populated places

As of 2025, after the merger with the former municipality of Pertunmaa, Mäntyharju consists of the following populated places:

Mäntyharju sub-section proper:
- villages (kylät): Ahvenisto, Enonlahti (Enolahti), Halmeniemi, Hietaniemi, Huopola, Hyyrylä, Jäniskylä, Karankamäki, Kinnilä (Kinni), Korpilahti, Kousanniemi, Kukonkorpi, Kyttälä, Lahnaniemi, Leppäniemi, Luhtanen, Lyytikkälä, Mynttilä, Niinimäki, Nurmaa, Ollikkala, Outila, Paasola, Partsinmaa, Pertunmaa, Poitinniemi, Pärnämäki, Saviniemi, Särkemäki, Tiilikkala, Toivola, Vanonen
- urban municipal parts (kulmakunnat): Kirkonkylä, Koirakivi, Käävänkylä, Pyhäkoski, Turkinkylä, Valtola, Varpanen
Pertunmaa sub-section:
- villages (kylät): Pertunmaa^[a] Kuortti, Hartosenpää, Hölttä, Joutsjärvi, Karankamäki, Kirkonkylä, Koirakivi, Kuhajärvi, Kälkyttä, Lihavanpää, Mansikkamäki, Nipuli, Ruorasmäki, Ruuttila, Sydänmaa, Vastamäki

Notes

^ Designated as a church village (kirkonkylä).

History

The modern Mäntyharju municipality is on the border between the historical Tavastia, Savonia and Karelia regions. The parish of Mäntyharju was formed in 1595 out of Iitti, Sysmä, Pellosniemi (see Mikkeli, Mikkelin maalaiskunta) and Taipalsaari. Before that, there was already a chapel in the village of Kyttälä, at the time part of Iitti.^[6]

After the Treaty of Turku in 1743, western Mäntyharju remained Swedish while the eastern part, including the church, was ceded to Russia. The parts were reunited in 1821, when Old Finland was added to the Grand Duchy. Pertunmaa became a separate parish in May 20th of 1924 and a municipality in 1926, also including smaller parts of Hartola and Joutsa.^[7]^[8]

Notable people

Antti Häkkänen (b. 1985), former Minister of Justice of Finland 2017-2019
Antti Jaatinen (b. 1987), ice hockey player
Sami Savio - (b. 1975) Politician
Edward Vesala (1945–1999), Finnish avant-garde jazz composer, bandleader and drummer.
Kake Randelin (b. 1955), Finnish singer

References

^ ^a ^b "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Population increased most in Uusimaa in 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 23 January 2025. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 23 January 2025.
^ "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
^ Statistics Finland
^ "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 281. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
^ "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 December 2022.
^ "Historia - Pertunmaa". pertunmaa.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

External links

Media related to Mäntyharju at Wikimedia Commons Mäntyharju travel guide from Wikivoyage

Municipality of Mäntyharju – Official site

[6] Designated as a church village (kirkonkylä).

[total_area-1] "Area of Finnish Municipalities 1.1.2018" (PDF). National Land Survey of Finland. Retrieved 30 January 2018.

[population_count-2] "Population increased most in Uusimaa in 2024". Population structure. Statistics Finland. 23 January 2025. ISSN 1797-5395. Retrieved 23 January 2025.

[demography-3] "Population according to age (1-year) and sex by area and the regional division of each statistical reference year, 2003–2020". StatFin. Statistics Finland. Retrieved 2 May 2021.

[tax_rate-4] "Luettelo kuntien ja seurakuntien tuloveroprosenteista vuonna 2023". Tax Administration of Finland. 14 November 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2023.

[summer_houses-5] Statistics Finland

[7] "SuomalainenPaikannimikirja_e-kirja_kuvallinen.pdf" (PDF). kaino.kotus.fi (in Finnish). p. 281. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

[8] "Suomen Sukututkimusseura". hiski.genealogia.fi (in Finnish). Retrieved 27 December 2022.

[9] "Historia - Pertunmaa". pertunmaa.fi (in Finnish). Archived from the original on 24 March 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2022.

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